5 signs you’ve suffered from medical negligence

No doctor is perfect, but mistakes can be devastating when your well-being is at stake. If you suspect medical negligence, PK Simpson outlines five key signs that might indicate you have a valid claim for compensation.

Table of Contents

1. Your Treatment is Ineffective
2. You Didn’t Undergo a Series of Tests
3. You Develop a Condition Based on a Surgical Error
4. The Physician is Ignoring You
5. You Never Received a Follow-up

In the event you find yourself in such an unfortunate situation, you should seek assistance from lawyers knowledgeable of medical negligence. These professionals will not only gather evidence to build your case, but also adhere to a ‘no win, no fee’ policy. This means that if they don’t win your case, they’ll absorb the up-front costs and subtract them from the final settlement.

If your treatment isn’t working, your physician may have misdiagnosed you.

If you’re not legally or medically savvy, it can be difficult to determine whether or not you’ve fallen victim to medical malpractice. Here are five signs that this may be the case:

1

Your Treatment is Ineffective

If the treatment you’re receiving isn’t working, it could be a sign that your physician misdiagnosed your illness. Given that medicine is a difficult practice in which to specialise, proving that a doctor did not use all of his or her knowledge and resources in an effort to accurately diagnose a condition is difficult.

Obviously, this is where your lawyer comes into play. In the event your physician’s treatment isn’t getting the job done, a legal consultant can gather the evidence necessary to prove he or she failed to exercise good judgement.

2

You Didn’t Undergo a Series of Tests

Although doctors can use their knowledge to assess symptoms and develop diagnoses, they must conduct various tests to confirm whether those conclusions are correct. A large part of practising medicine involves disproving assumptions, no matter how educated those estimates may be.

However, suppose your general physician (GP) asserts that certain tests or examinations are unnecessary, and that his or her conclusion is correct.

If he or she delivers a treatment or prescribes a medicine that either detrimentally impacts your health or has no effect, you’ll likely win a medical negligence case, although this isn’t guaranteed.

Your GP should conduct multiple tests to confirm a diagnosis. Your GP should conduct multiple tests to confirm a diagnosis.

3

You Develop a Condition Based on a Surgical Error

It doesn’t matter whether you’re receiving surgery for a life-threatening condition or to adjust your appearance, going under the knife is a serious situation. No mistake is harmless, and one mishap could damage internal organs, negatively impact your immune system or cause a severe infection.

Generally, there are three kinds of surgical errors, a few of which may be more common than others:

Unintentional perforation or laceration: A small hand twitch may create an aperture somewhere along the body. While a nick on the arm is no big deal, a lacerated artery could take a person’s life.

Object left in patient: This may sound like a scenario out of “The Three Stooges”, but it’s not something to joke about. A small piece of gauze left in the body can cause serious repercussions.

Wrong site surgery: When surgeons perform an operation at a part of the body that doesn’t require attention, it’s typically due to a clerical error. In the worst cases, this could involve an amputation of a healthy limb.

4

The Physician is Ignoring You

Under Australian law, GPs have a duty of care to you and every one of their patients. The same responsibility applies to those in charge of employees. If a business owner does not create a safe work environment for his or her personnel, he or she may be held legally responsible if one of them is hurt, inciting a workers’ compensation case.

If your GP neglects to inform you of your condition, repeatedly disregards your enquiries or otherwise fails to remain in contact with you in the midst of an illness, you may be able to claim medical negligence.

If your doctor fails to answer your phone calls, he or she could be held liable. If your doctor fails to answer your phone calls, he or she could be held liable.
Speak to your lawyer to learn more about this situation. Provide your legal consultant with evidence of correspondence between yourself and your GP. Should the documents display your GP’s failure to reply, your lawyer may be able to build a compelling argument.

5

You Never Received a Follow-up

After receiving surgery, receiving a major treatment or undergoing some other huge medical procedure, it’s imperative that your doctor speaks with you to ensure everything is fine. This allows him or her to deduce whether a treatment, surgery or prescription was effective.

Assuming anything in life is typically unwise. When a GP, no matter how well-supported his or her argument is, presumes that his or her decision will work, it could detrimentally impact your condition. In general, your doctor should make an assessment as to whether or not everything is going according to plan.

Speak to a lawyer

The medical and legal arenas are difficult to navigate. You may be a victim of negligence, but unaware of what to look for. Contact a medical negligence lawyer in NSW to learn what you can do to identify poor practices.

“$222,200 in general damages and $236,039 for past and future medical expenses”

— PK Simpson InjuryLaw (@PK_SimpsonAU) May 1, 2017